If Only for Love
by Amanda Marie Johnson
Summary: Dawn's abusive boyfriend causes the unthinkable. Rlease r+r
1. Tough love

If Only for Love  
  
Dawn yawned as she tried to concentrate on her homework. She had been feeling tired and achy for a while now. She didn't know what it was. She had recently started her freshman year of college and didn't want to be behind. Her boyfriend Logan was a junior in college and she lived with him. She yawned again.  
"God, why am I so tired?" she said to herself.  
"Maybe it's because you stay out all hours of the night," Logan said as he stumbled out of their bedroom.  
"You're drunk," she said, looking up at him.  
"Shut up!" he yelled, which startled her. "Are you telling me what to do?"  
"No" she said.  
"Because I can do whatever I want to do," he said, his world slurring.  
"Logan calm down" Dawn said as she stood up to be eye level with him. He smiled and look away for a second and then lashed out and hit her, causing her to fall to the ground. Tears started to fall as she cupped her hand over her right cheekbone.  
"Get up!" he screamed at her. She quickly obeyed, trying to avoid another blow to her face. "Don't you ever, ever tell me what to do again do you here me, do you!" he shouted.  
"Yes" she said.  
"Yes what?" she asked.  
"Y-yes sir" she said, not looking at him. He pushed her down into the chair she was sitting at and went back into their bedroom. Dawn started to cry as she rubbed her cheek. 


	2. The bad guy

The sun shone high the next morning. Dawn woke at 8:00. Logan had classes so he had already left. Dawn went into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. She wanted to go see her sister. She looked in the mirror at the new bruise Logan had given her. After she showered and dressed she covered it the best she could with face powder. She sighed as she grabbed her purse and jacket and left the house.  
Dawn drove twenty-five minutes across town to Buffy's house. She was exited to see her sister and Willow and everyone else.  
"Hey Dawnie" Buffy said when Dawn walked in the house.  
"Hi Buffy" Dawn said and hugged Buffy tightly. She wanted to move back in with her, but Buffy was now married and had a child and there was no room for her now.  
"Auntie Dawn!" Buffy's three-year-old daughter Maggie said as she ran to Dawn.  
"Hey Maggie honey how are you?" Dawn said and picked up the little girl.  
I'm good, what about you?" Maggie said.  
"I'm okay sweetie" Dawn said.  
"So are you staying for dinner?" Buffy asked. "We're having hamburgers and hotdogs."  
"Uh. . ." Dawn said and then her cell rang and she answered it. "Hello?"  
"Where are you?" Logan asked.  
"Uh, I'm at my sister's" Dawn told him.  
"Well come home, my parents are coming over" he said.  
"But I was gonna stay and have dinner with my sister" Dawn said.  
"Do I have to repeat myself?" he asked coldly. She knew what that meant. If she didn't obey she would pay for it later.  
"Okay, I'll be there soon" Dawn said and hung up.  
"You're not staying?" Maggie asked, still in Dawn's arms.  
"No sweetie I'm not" Dawn said.  
"Auntie Dawn, what happened to you?" the three year old said as she touched Dawn's face. Dawn flinched. The bruise was still sore.  
"What happened?" Buffy said.  
"Nothing" Dawn said and put Maggie down.  
"Come here" Buffy said and licked her thumb so she could wipe away the powder to reveal the bruise on Dawn's cheekbone. "Who did this, was it Logan?" Buffy asked furiously.  
"I. . .I made him mad, it was my fault" she finally said.  
"No. . .don't you dare say that, I'll kill him" she said heading for the door.  
"No!" Dawn said stopping he in horror. "Please, if he finds out I told then-"  
"He won't hurt you again, I promise" Buffy said, hugging her baby sister.  
"Buffy, I love him" Dawn whispered.  
"Well you're stupid for it" Buffy said and Dawn glared at her.  
"You love Spike, and he-" Dawn began but Buffy stopped her.  
"Shhh!" she whispered loudly. "Uh, Maggie baby, go upstairs and play with your toys okay" Buffy told her daughter.  
"But mommy I don't want to" Maggie complained.  
"Margaret Joyce Summers do what mommy tells you" Buffy said sternly. Maggie pouted and went upstairs. "Dawn, it was different with spike and you know that."  
"How?" Dawn asked.  
"Because before he fell in love with me he was evil, okay, and he had no choice being that way, he's a vampire" Buffy said.  
"If he had no choice being that way then why did he change when he fell in love with you, he was still a vampire?" Dawn asked.  
"Honey, I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, I just want to protect you, and I'll tell you one thing, if he ever touches you again, I will kill him" Buffy said. . "Look I have to go okay, I'll see you. . .sometime" Dawn said and hurried out. Buffy leaned against the door and sighed heavily. She wanted to do something to prevent her sister from being hurt again, but what could she do? Dawn didn't want her in interfere with it. She sighed again and went over to the phone and picked it up and dialed a number.  
"Hello?" a man's voice sounded.  
"Hey, look, it's Buffy, could you come over here? I'd like to talk to you." 


	3. Don't tell

Buffy paced back and forth in the living room waiting for him to arrive. She didn't know what she was gonna say. She didn't know how she was gonna say what she didn't know she was gonna say. She just needed to talk to him. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Buffy sighed before opening it and there stood Xander.  
"Hey Buff" he said holding his and Anya's son in his arms. Gavin was a little older than Maggie was.  
"Hey Xand, glad you could come over" Buffy said.  
"No prob, I'm here for ya" Xander said.  
"Daddy can I play with Maggie?" Gavin asked.  
"Sure kid, go ahead" Xander said and put Gavin down.  
"She's up in her room sweetie" Buffy said and Gavin ran upstairs. "Don't run."  
"So, what's up?" Xander asked.  
"We have a big problem, Willow's in England with Giles and I didn't want to wake Spike because daytime and I need your help, not that you were the last one I thought of but-" Buffy babbled on.  
"Buffy, what's wrong?" Xander asked.  
"It's Dawn" Buffy said.  
  
**********************  
  
Dawn walked through the door of her and Logan's apartment and sat down her purse and jacket.  
"Logan? I'm home" Dawn said, afraid that he was drunk or mad at her for some reason.  
"Hey baby" he said in a happy tone, this relieved her.  
"Hi, w-when are your parents coming?" Dawn asked.  
"In a few, sit down I want to talk to you" he said and she followed him into the living room and they sat on the couch.  
"What is it, are you okay?" Dawn asked.  
"Yeah, I just wanted to apologize for last night, I was drunk and I didn't mean to hit you, I love you, you have to know that" Logan said.  
"I-I know, I love you too," she said and he kissed her.  
"Good, now come on help me clean up, they'll be here soon" Logan said.  
  
**********************  
  
"What? Are you serious? Is she okay?" Xander asked when Buffy told him what was going on.  
"Yeah, I think so" Buffy said.  
"Well let's go, I want to kill him" Xander said and headed for the door.  
"Xander, stop" Buffy said.  
"What, you just told me that a guy is beating on your little sister, and you're telling me *not* to go and make him wished he'd never met her?" Xander said.  
"Look believe me, I want to kill him too, but Dawn said to stay out of it, she's afraid" Buffy said.  
"Well why wouldn't she be? I mean, I don't understand how a man could hit on a woman like that, and especially the Dawnmeister" Xander said.  
"I know, I don't know what to do, I mean part of me wants to go over there and make that creep sorry he's a man, but the other part knows that there are other ways of handling this" Buffy said.  
"Like what?" Xander asked.  
"I don't know" Buffy said sitting down on the couch and burring her head in her hands. Xander followed and sat next to Buffy and put his hand on her shoulder comforting her. "I've been able to protect her from demons, vampires, hell gods, why can't I protect her from one measly human?"  
"Come on Buff, we'll protect her" Xander said.  
  
**********************  
  
It wasn't until a half an hour later that Logan's parents arrived.  
"Hey mom, dad" Logan said.  
"Hello sweet pea" Logan's mom said.  
"Mom, dad you remember Dawn right?" Logan asked.  
"Yes, how are you?" Logan's dad asked.  
"I'm fine, you?" Dawn asked.  
"I'm good thank you," he said.  
"Sweetie what happened to your eye?" Logan's mom asked examining it.  
"Oh, uh I slipped on some water and hit my eye on the corner of the nightstand, you should of saw it a couple days ago" Dawn said covering for her boyfriend.  
"Oh, well you're all right?" she asked.  
"Uh yeah fine" Dawn said and Logan put his arm around her.  
"Why don't we go and sit on the couch and talk huh?" Logan said and directed Dawn and his parents to the living room.  
  
**********************  
  
Night fell and Spike woke. Xander had went home a couple hours before. Buffy wanted to tell Spike about the situation, but she knew him all too well. If she told him he would probably kill him for sure, soul or none. She decided to tell him anyway.  
"Hey slayer" Spike said walking into the kitchen and going to the fridge.  
"Hey" Buffy said.  
"What's the matter?" he asked getting a bag of blood out of the fridge and putting in a mug and putting it in the microwave.  
"Okay, if I tell you this you promise not to like go all vampirey psycho?" Buffy asked.  
"I resent that remark, but yeah," Spike said as he took the mug out of the microwave and took a drink from it.  
"All right, I just found out that. . .Logan has been hitting Dawn" Buffy said.  
"What! I'll kill him, literally" Spike said heading for the door.  
"Honey, you can't okay, please, look Dawn doesn't want him to know she told me all right, she's afraid" Buffy said.  
"What am I supposed to do just sit back and pretend I don't know?" Spike asked coming back towards her.  
"No, we just have to deal with this rationally" Buffy said.  
"You're not fooling me, I know you want to kill him as much as I do, maybe more" Spike said.  
"You're right, I do, but I have to respect my sister's wishes" Buffy said.  
"Your sister is getting beaten by her boyfriend" Spike said.  
"I know" Buffy said and sighed in frustration.  
  
**********************  
  
Logan's parents left and Dawn was left alone with him.  
"I'm tired, I'm gonna go to bed" she said and headed towards the bedroom.  
"Hey" he said and she turned around. "Good covering, but I have to tell you, if you tell anyone, you'll wish you didn't."  
"You don't have to threaten me Logan, I won't tell" she said and he came over to her. She thought he was gonna hit her again, but he just kissed her on the head.  
"That's a good girl" he said and went into the bathroom. She sighed and went to bed. 


End file.
